Trial underway on whether vet's service dog is vicious

Aug. 23, 2013 - 08:12AM
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MONTROSE, COLO. — A trial has begun for an Army veteran over whether his service dog is a vicious animal.

A municipal judge in Montrose had fined Jeremiah Aguilar for having a vicious dog after his service animal, Dutch, bit its former owner in 2012 as she tried to break up a fight between Dutch and another dog.

Aguilar appealed to county court. He contends Dutch was provoked before biting the woman.

Dutch initially was ordered to be destroyed, but the order was stayed.

The Montrose Daily Press reports that a jury of three women heard opening arguments Thursday in county court on Aguilar’s case. Jurors will decide whether the dog was vicious and whether it was properly contained. They won’t decide Dutch’s fate.